Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas return to training on Friday, both hopeful for match against Sounders

Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas return to training on Friday, both hopeful for match against Sounders

CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy may have Brazilian midfielder Juninho back into the fold for this Sunday’s match against Seattle Sounders FC.

Juninho returned to the training field on Friday after exiting LA’s 1-0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls in the 10th minute after being kicked in his right shin by New York’s Juninho Pernambucano. With just one more day of preparation before the Seattle match, Juninho is encouraged about his status for Sunday.

“Today was my first day, I felt okay,” Juninho told reporters on Friday. “[The shin] is still hurting a little bit, but today I made good movements and I wasn’t feeling anything. Hopefully, I can play on Sunday.”

Joining Juninho on the training field was his Brazilian midfield companion Marcelo Sarvas, who did not train earlier this week due to back issue.

“After last week, I felt my back a little bit. We spoke and the decision was to rest [Tuesday and Wednesday] and get back to training [on Friday],” said Sarvas. “I trained normal, so it is no problem. I feel better and I feel ready to go.”